Mortgage Rates Still historically low

December 4, 2018

The average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage loan across the U.S. is 4.93%, with a range of 3.63%-7.61 percent. Here in Idaho the average is slightly lower at 4.91%, with a tighter range of 4.38%-5.38%.

With the Federal Reserve poised to raise interest rates again at its December meeting, the trend of increasing mortgage rates appears likely to carry on into the new year.

As consumers we’ve become used to sub 5.0% interest rates, in fact many younger buyers probably don’t remember a time when rates were higher than five percent.

However, going back to 1971 (the oldest data I could find), prior to 2010, mortgage rates had NEVER dropped below 5%. Most years they hovered between 6-9%, and in 1979 the average rate rose above 10%, peaked at 16.64% in 1981 (with a high rate of 18.63%), and finally dropped back to 9.25% in 1991.

While current rates are higher than what we’ve known since the financial crisis, the reality is that we’re not likely to see them below 5% again for a long time, if ever.

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